Home cooking to help settle early draft order … With just weekend’s to go in the NFL regular schedule, the #1 pick at the 2024 draft has already been settled – Chicago will have the first pick with Carolina’s #1 selection – the rest of the top 10 is still to be decided. And as luck would have it, every team currently sitting on one of picks 2 thru 7 will be playing at home on Sunday. However, that’s where the similarities end as several of those teams are in tough this week. Washington, which would have flipped for the 2-3 picks with New England were the draft held last week, and the NY Giants, who would have had the 5th pick, for example, have to play Dallas and Philadelphia who are in a battle for the NFC East title and a home playoff game. Meanwhile, the LA Chargers and Tennessee, who currently sit 6th and 7th are also home to playoff contenders as they face Kansas City and Jacksonville respectively. However, neither will face their opponents star QB as Patrick Mahomes will sit out with KC already in the post-season, while the Jags Trevor Lawrence likely won’t play because of an injury. On the other hand, New England would appear to have an eminently winnable game when the Patriots host the NY Jets who will be starting journeyman Trevor Siemian, while one would also think that Arizona would have a decent shot against Seattle, especially if the Seahawks have been eliminated from the playoff picture as a result of an early game Sunday. The full, updated weekly selection order, with the first 18 picks locked in, will be posted after Sunday night’s game between Buffalo and Miami.
